Garment hanger



Juy 4, 1939 c. sADowsKY 2,165,072

@Annan HANGER Filed Sept. 29, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 02m/*Zes ,S'adomslg @ML ATTORNEY July 4, 1939.

c. sADowsKY GARMENT HANGER FledSept. 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l'vENToR 'harjes Sadows/ny ATTORNEY Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to garment hangers, and particularly to devices of this character adapted to releasably support therefrom ladies dresses, gowns and other garments.

Cognizance is taken of certain existing devices of this category conceived for the purpose of providing releasable holding means for preventing a suspended garment from slipping off its hanger, but these have certain common shortcomings that have prevented their wide or successful use. Among the disadvantages inherent in these structures may be included their inability to effectively sustain various types and weights of garments, and where structures have been devised to effectively accomplish this purpose, the devices were relatively intricate, diflicult to fabricate and quite costly. It is hence primarily within the contemplation of my invention to provide a hanger with means to securely hold a garment sustained therefrom against slipping, and which is relatively simple in structure, easy to manufacture, and consequently comparatively inexpensive.

It is known that although certain so-called non-slip hangers are provided with means for securely gripping a suspended garment to hold it from slipping, they require such physical strength or dexterity in manipulation as to render them too difficult to operate and hence of little value to the user. It is thus another object of my invention to eliminate this shortcoming by enabling a garment to be readily and easily placed into operative engagement with the hanger in a manner which requires neither skill nor strength, and whereby the garment Will be securely maintained in position.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a hanger of this character with readily adjustable means for varying the magnitude of the frictional grip of the holding element upon the suspended garment, thereby rendering the device adaptable for garments of difcult Weights.

It is also within the contemplation of my invention to enable it to be readily and easily applied to any conventional hanger.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of one form of my invention shown supporting a garment represented by dash lines.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front view of a hanger provided with the spring holding means included in my invention, and showing in dash lines a second position of the spring holding means.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of my invention with the spring holder thereof in an inoperative position.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal section of a portion of the invention illustrated in Figure 2. i

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the hollow sleeve constituting part of this invention in another operative position.

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the hollow sleeve illustrated in the foregoing figures, shown before it is assembled upon the spring holder.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section of Figure 2 taken along line 1 1.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of another form of my invention showing 'the assembled spring holder being drawn into position over the hook of the hanger.

Figure 9 is a front view of the device of Figure 8 shown in one operative position upon the hanger.

Figure l0 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of a portion of the structure of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a View similar to Figure 10 illustrating the condition of the yieldable sleeve upon the application of an upward pressure by the spring holder.

Figure 12 is a View similar to Figure 10 showing the upper terminal of the yieldable sleeve in engagement with the bend of the hook.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary enlarged transverse section of Figure 9 taken along line I3-I3, and Figure 14 is a perspective View of the yieldable sleeve employed in the structures of Figures 8 to 12 inclusive.

In the drawings, and particularly referring to Figures 1 to 7 inclusive, the hanger support or bar I D and the hook element II containing a substantially straight stem I2 and hooked portion I3 are of more or less conventional structure. Rotatively mounted over the stem I2 is the hollow sleeve I4 which is preferably of elongated structure containing at the base thereof the annular ridge I5 and spaced therefrom the flanged annular terminal I6. Extending upwardly from the intermediate cylindrical body portion of the sleeve I4 is the extension or Wall Il, shown in the form illustrated to be of curved cross-sectional conguration to conform with the corresponding portion of the cylinder from which it extends,-the upper edge I8 of said wall being recessed or indented to enable it to operatively accommodate the hook portion Il in a manner 'to be hereinafter set forth.

The device is further provided with a resilient holder I9 consisting preferably of a band or strip of spring steel, and of arcuate or bowed configuration, the opposite terminal ends 20 and 2| of which are preferably curled upwardly and indented to substantially conform with the thickness and shape of the upper edge of hanger bar I0. suitably secured, such as by mucilaginous means, to the under side of said terminal portions 29 and 2I are the felt strips 22 and 23 which extend into the indented or recessed pQ1-..

tions thereof, and which are adapted for engagement either with the adjacent portions of hanger bar I or a garment positioned thereoveif,y .The middle portion .of said holderr I9 contains'an aperture 24 through which the lower'` portionof saidsleeve I4 extends and with the annular. wallr of which it is in operative engagement. Specifically, the Aannular groove 2.5V ,between the ridge illustrated in Figure 2 whichshowsthe spring holder I9..in.engagement with the hanger bar I0 proper. vIn this condition the. entire device can be conveniently stored away. byv suspending. it

from any convenionalsuDPQrt as convenientlyas any simple hanger, and .without occupying any more space. When itis desired to position a gar.-

ment.; upon theV device, .the terminal portions 20 Y and 2| are either.simultaneously..or` successively f lifted against the .spring tension of-.the holder I9,

and the. garment .slipped` intoV place. over the hanger.. but. underneath.. said: terminal portions. Upon a release of the terminal port-ions, the garrnentwill.v besecurely held in place. between the bar I Il .and holder I 9, due ,to..the spring. tension induced in the latter, as will hereinafter appear. InJ the position shown. in Eiguresl and..;2'L the feltpads. 22. and 23 arethe only portions. ofthe holder in actual engagement with the garment, thereby insuring it against mutilation by anyl metallic .portions thereof.; It iseevident. also .that the holder., I9.` can..be.rotated until, .the-terminal portions v2li and 2l are out of engagement with thebar Il),y as 1illustrated in Eigure 3,. wherebythe garment. can be. readily placed-.over .oppositeportions of thebar,` to be subsequently frictionally retained .inplace vby rotating,v the holder.. I 9 back into ,the p1ane..of bar lrand bringing, the. ter-y minalportions120 land 2| into. engagement with the .underlyingportions of .the garment. on the bar.

Itv will be. observed particularly. byreferring to Figures-2 and A thattheupperterminal edge.26.

. of the cylindrical .portion of sleeve I4` is in engagement with the bentportion 21 ofthe hook, that is, atthe juncture of the stem I2 and hooked portion I3.. It is thusapparent that fur-ther upwardv movement of sleeve. I4 is prevented by the inclined portion V28 of. the hook intheregion ofbend.21....; It is also evident that there can. be no crawling. yupward of said. sleeve abouthookporeV tion I3,f due .to the. elongated lproportions of the sleeve `and the. relatively close. iit between the stern. lzpand theinteriorwallof .s1eeve|4.. .The heightA [ofthev cylindrical 4pori-,ieri of said .sleeve above groove 25-.is sodesigned that when the edgeg'ZI is positioned at .bendv 21; and. ;whe.n..th.e terminal Aedges.2111.ar1d 2l vvare vin. .engagement with the bar I0, there will be suicient tension within the resilient holding strip I9 for its intended purpose.

Should it be foundthat the garment is excessively heavy, all that need be done is tovgrasp the sleeve I4 and depress it against the action of the spring holder I9, and then rotate the sleeve I4 about the stem I2 until wall I 8 intersects the plane of hook Il, whereby the recessed edge I8 will engage theV inclined, portion 28 of the hook at theV region'ofthe bend 21.. In this manner the sleeve I4 will be maintained in its lower po-Y sition and the resilient strip I9 held in a corree spondingly lowered position such as that indi-A catedby the dash lines of Figure 2; and it is apparent thatV in. this condition the stress within the member I9' is increased and its frictional holding power correspondingly greater, whereby it will b e.. capable of cooperating with the bar I0 to support a relatively heavier garment.

f Inthe manufactureof this device, the tubular member |4115. at first in the form shown in Eigure; .the lowermost terminalf29 thereof being of such proportions; as t0 enablel Yit to be readily inserted. Within the .hole 2.4 'in theresilientholder- I9.` Hencaif the sleeve I4 is-accordinglv inserted. over. the. sternv |12l of hookv ll,

andthe lowermostpalt Ofstem I2and the. portion` 29fare-.inserted1 through said hole 24-then, by, suitable Stamping 0r. pressure. means; the ange ldmayjbe, formed toprovide the assembledistructurellustrated n. thedrawings.

Referring, tothe modiedrgform ofmy invention illustrated in; Figures Sto 14, inclusive,` ai

Slet-aye.r 3.0; made. .of rubber, or .other yieldable material .is ,employed in. piaeeolfqthe-risd 1 Sleeve I4 of .the above described forrnF-said yieldable sleeve containing preferably., at the lower extremity thereofthe .annularjgreeved portieri 3l, and the upper. portion of. .the sleeve bengl'preierably of elongated; cylindrical..eoniiguration as; illustrated.

In assembling. this. form. of my inventionthe said grooved portionl, is.ir iserted withinthe middleI -:hole 32 of the v resilient holding. band.v 33 so thatgthe wall wofthe band surrounding saidhole enters/.the groove foriretienal; engagement therewith. Althoueh-tnebaseof. sleeve 3.0 is Shown of;4 enlarged proportions, it; is.; understood that thateisgmerely the preferredqform, inasmuchY as the. important .feature 0f this aspect of mylinventon istheprevsen of an annular groeve for iretional engagement with the Wall eivsaidhole 32.5 Itis ofL courseevident that the base of sleeve. ,inician-be. -readily .inserted within the-said hole, 13.2 for operativer-engagement therewith, in View of its yieldable; and resilient properties. The assembly-. of holder 33 andsleeve 30 isthen slipped over the hook-34.and :drawn downwardly thereoverin the.direction of .the arrow asindicated in Figure Bluntil the sleeve .occupies the desiredmosition on the steml 35,\ such as the position shown-in Figures 9y and-)10. The internal diameter of the sleeve 30 should be sufficient to permit a slidingV movement thereof over-the support a garment substantially in the manner indicated in Figure 1.

Any upward force exerted by the resilient holder 33 will be resisted by the frictional grip the elongated portion of sleeve has upon stem 35, thereby preventing an upward displacement thereof. By referring to Figure 11 it will be seen that an upward force in the direction of the arrow may result only in a bulge substantially at the region 4I, due to the cumulative resistance along the entire length of the contacting surface between the inner wall of sleeve 3l) and the stem 35 and it is evident that the formation of such bulge will cause the portion of the sleeve 3l! thereabove to rmly grip the stem of the hook. This is particularly true if the body portion of the sleeve is suii'ciently elongated, as illustrated, but becomes decreasingly effective as its length is reduced.

It is thus obvious that upon a vertical adjusting manipulation of the sleeve upon the stem oi" the hook, different magnitudes of stress can be induced within the resilient holder 33, whereby it can be made to effectively support garments of diierent weights. In the position illustrated in Figure 12, the holder 33 is obviously in its least strained condition, inasmuch as the sleeve 3D is disposed in its uppermost operative position. In this position it is of course apparent that further upward movement of the sleeve 30 upon the hook is prevented not only by its frictional grip upon the stem 35, but also by the engagement of the upper terminal 42 with the bend 43 at the juncture of the stem and the inclined portion 44 of the hook.

The first form illustrated in Figures l to 7 is adapted for manufacture as a complete unit, and can be so sold to the user who is required to perform no assembling operation whatsoever. The elements employed, however, are of such simple structure, that they can be readily fabricated at a small cost, so that the completed article may be relatively inexpensive. In the form of my invention illustrated in Figures 9 to 14, any standard or conventional hanger consisting of a bar 4l! and hook 34 can be employed, and all that need be done is to assemble thereupon, in the manner above set forth, the structure comprising the resilient holding member 33 and sleeve 3Q.

Both of the structures illustrated and described are substantially similar in operative effectiveness, in that they both contain a bowed spring member the terminals of which are in engagement with a hanger bar, the said member being suitably mounted, through the medium of a hollow sleeve, upon the stem of the hanger hook, the sleeves of each form being movable over said stem longitudinally and rotatively, and being provided with means to hold it in predetermined positions whereby the stress within the bowed resilient holder can be varied.

It is of course understood that the structures above described and shown in the drawings are illustrative of my invention and not employed by way of limitation, inasmuch as numerous changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim is:

l. A garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a hook member secured to the middle of the bar and consisting of a straight stem joined to a hooked portion, a sleeve containing an annular grooved portion and an upwardly extending elongated tubular portion and being movably mounted over said stem and abuttable with the said hooked portion at the region of its juncture with the stem for limiting the uppermost position of the sleeve on the stem, the sleeve being closely tted over the stem and of sufficient length to prevent it from movement across and past said juncture, and a bowed resilient holding member containing an apertured middle portion through which said grooved portion of the sleeve extends and with which it is in frictional engagement whereby the holding member is carried by the sleeve, said holding member containing portions engageable with said bar and adapted to frictionally hold an underlying garment thereupon, the height of said juncture above the bar being such that the resilient member is adapted for pressing engagement with the saidvbar when the sleeve is in its said uppermost position.

2. In a garment hanger, a supportingbar, a hook member secured to the middle of the bar and consisting of a straight stem and a hooked portion, a sleeve mounted over said stem and containing a cylindrical portion and an extension wall thereabove, and a bowed resilient member rotatably mounted at substantially its midpoint over said sleeve and carried thereby, said holding member containing portions engageable with said bar and adapted to irictionally hold an underlying garment thereupon, said sleeve being rotatably and longitudinally movable over said stem whereby the upper edge of said cylindrical portion and the upper edge of said wall can be selectively brought into underlying abutting engagement with the said hooked portion at the region of its juncture with the stem for operatively holding the sleeve at either of two predetermined positions on the stem, whereby stresses of two dierent magnitudes can be induced in the said resilient member when it is in operative position upon the said bar.

3. In a garment hanger, the combination according to claim 2, the said cylindrical portion being of elongated proportions and containing at the region of the base thereof an annular groove, the said resilient holding member having an apertured portion at the said midpoint thereof operatively positioned within said annular groove.

4. A garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a hook member secured to the middle of the bar and consisting of a straight stem joined to a hooked portion, an elongated tubular sleeve of yieldable and compressible material mounted over said stem and in frictional engagement therewith, and a curved resilient holding member carried by said sleeve and containing portions engageable with said bar and adapted to frictionally hold an underlying garment upon the bar.

5. A garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a hook member secured to the middle of the bar and consisting of a straight stem joined to a hooked portion, an upwardly extending elongated tubular sleeve of yieldable and compressible material mounted over said stem and in frictional engagement therewith, the lower portion of said sleeve containing an annular grooved portion, and a bowed resilient holding member containing an apertured portion at substantially the middle thereof into which said lower portion of the sleeve extends and with which said annular grooved portion is in engagement, whereby said holding member is mounted upon the sleeve, said holding member containing oppositely disposed terminal portions engageable with saidbar and adapted to frictionally hold an underly- Il ing garment therepomthe 'said terminal portions of the resilient holding member bei'n'g adapted for pressing engagement with the said bar when the sleeve is in engagement with any selected portion of the stem, thev frictional engagement of the sleeve with the stem' being sufficient to hold the sleeve against displacement due to the effort exerted' thereagainst by said resilient holding member.

6. AA garment hanger comprising a supporting bar, a hook member secured to thev middle of the bar and consisting of a straight stem joined to a hooked portion, an elongated tubular sleeve of yieldable and compres'sible material mounted over said stern and in frictional engagement therewith, whereby it is normally frictional-ly held against movement,y a curved resilient holding member attached to the lower portion of the sleeve and containing portions engageable with said bar and adapted to frictionally hold an underlying garment thereupon, the relation between the inner diameter of the -yieldable sleeve and the "diameter f the stein being as to permit a rotatable and slidable movement of the sleeve upon the stern uponr manuali manipulation.

'7'` A- garment hanger comprising av supporting bar, a hook member secured to the middle of the bar and' consisting of a straight stern joined to a hooked portion, a sleevel of yi'eldable and compressible material mounted over said' stem andi movable longitL-idinallyv therealong, a curved resilientVV holding member carried by said sleeve and containing portions engageable with said bar and adapted to frictionally holdv an underlying garment upon the bar, and means to hold said sleeve predetermined position upon the said stern wherebyY a. stress is induced in the said resilient holding member when it is in operative position upon the bar, the uppermost edge of the sleeve being abuttable with the hook member at its juncture with the stem, the sleeve being closely tted over the stem to maintain the holding member against tilting.

CHARLES SADOWSKY. 

